---

UN at 80: UK Missions to the United Nations

This briefing is part of the “UN at 80” series of short briefings from the House of Commons Library, taking stock of the United Nation’s 80-year existence, and looking ahead to what might be in store for the UN in future.

As the UN’s 80^th year officially closes, and the 81^st session of the General Assembly formally opens, this briefing highlights the ways in which the UK engages with the United Nations through its Missions to the UN.

The UK Missions to the UN

The UN was founded in 1945 after the Second World War, and now has a membership of 193 states, plus non-member observer states. The primary purpose of the UN was the maintenance of international peace and security, but since 1945 the UN’s work has expanded in recent years to tackle new global challenges. The UK was a founding member of the United Nations and is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Because the United Nations is made up of a wide system of organs, specialised agencies and linked international organisations, the UK does not have one single representative at the UN. In fact, with the UN having headquarters in New York, Geneva, and offices and organisations in Vienna, the UK has three distinct “UK Missions to the UN”. These are formally known as:

• UK Mission to the United Nations in New York
• UK Mission to the WTO, UN and other international organisations (Geneva)
• UK Mission to the UN in Vienna

The UK missions to the UN represent the UK’s interests at the UN headquarters in New York, Geneva, and Vienna. They cover a wide range of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s objectives from the peaceful settlements of disputes to climate change and protecting the environment, from respect for human rights to promoting sustainable development. They represent the UK at the UN offices based in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, as well as other international organisations also located there.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) set out the relationship between the FCDO and the UK’s UN missions in evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee in 2025 (PDF). The FCDO explained that the diplomats based in the UK’s multilateral missions receive instructions from ministers and policy officials back at FCDO headquarters, and it is ministers that set the direction and key decision making.

The FCDO described the missions to the UN as “The UK Government’s main interface with the UN system”, and explained that the UK engages with key stakeholders via the missions:

The UK Government’s main interface with the UN system are our multilateral missions to the UN, through which we engage UN leadership including the Secretary-General and his Special Representatives and Envoys. British diplomats, including specialists such as conflict advisers, also engage to influence and coordinate with UN agencies, funds and programmes in-country. This includes supporting projects on conflict prevention and peacebuilding, stabilisation and security sector reform, and on Women, Peace and Security.

The missions generally do not provide consular services to UK nationals, focussing mainly on their political, diplomatic, and legal work at the relevant international organisations.

UK Mission to the UN in New York

The UK Mission to the UN in New York represents the UK in all negotiations at the UN headquarters in New York, and its purpose is to ensure that UK interests and perspectives are reflected in decisions by UN bodies and member states.  

As part of its mission statement, it aims to:  

… make the UK more secure and prosperous by making the UN more effective and efficient at delivering peace, sustainable development, human rights, justice and humanitarian assistance.

Beyond day-to-day diplomacy, the Mission aims to strengthen the UN itself – supporting reforms to the Security Council, improving financial management, and enhancing the organisation’s ability to address global challenges such as peacekeeping, conflict prevention, and economic and social issues.

Key roles and people

The current Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the UK to the UN (New York) is Dame Sarah MacIntosh.

According to the FCDO, the Ambassador’s role is to represent the UK within the UN and engage with every other country or organisation that belongs to or observes the UN. As Ambassador, Dame MacIntosh is responsible for directing the work of the UK Mission in New York.

The New York Mission also has three other senior roles that are publicly shared by the FCDO:

• The Deputy Permanent Representative and Chargéd’Affaires
• The Ambassador to the General Assembly
• The Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council
• Political Coordinator

While the overall direction of the work of the Mission is led by the Ambassador, the daily management of the Mission is usually assumed by the Deputy Ambassador. This is often referred to as the Chargé d’Affaires but may be allocated differently depending on the staffing of each Mission.

The Deputy Ambassador in New York acts as the main alternative to the Permanent Representative across all the business of the UN.

The Ambassador to the General Assembly is responsible for representing the UK in the UN General Assembly itself, and also in the General Assembly’s committees. This role is also currently responsible for coordinating the UK’s involvement in high-level events at the UN.

The role of Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council leads on the representation of the UK in on economic, social and development issues, as well as leading the UK’s engagement with UN agencies in New York. The focus of the role is on sustainable development, humanitarian affairs, gender equality, economic growth and effective UN reform.

The Political Coordinator of the Mission is a diplomatic role responsible for leading the UK’s political engagements at the UN, including how the UK approaches business in the Security Council and wider international peace and security issues. This role can also involve negotiation on behalf of the UK in discussions with other UN member states and the UN secretariat.

UK Mission to the UN in Geneva

Geneva hosts a wide range of UN bodies, agencies, and programmes, alongside major international organisations such as the UN Human Rights Council, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Organization for Migration and the International Committee of the Red Cross.  

The UK Mission is arranged into teams covering human rights, trade and economic issues, health and humanitarian issues and arms control and disarmament. Between them, they lead the UK’s engagement with the many international and non-governmental organisations based in Geneva.  

Key roles and people

The UK’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva is Kumar Iyer CMG, who is also Permanent Representative for the WTO and 35 other international organisations based there.

The wider diplomatic and political team at the UK Mission to Geneva includes:

• Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative. Also known as the Deputy Head of Mission

This role is responsible advising the Ambassador in Geneva, including the daily management of the Mission. This role also often assumes the role of Chargé d’Affaires.

• Ambassador for Human Rights and Deputy Permanent Representative

The particular role of Ambassador for Human Rights is specifically responsible for defending and advancing human rights and democracy abroad. The FDCO states that “Promoting human rights and the rule of law is fundamental to maintaining stability and preventing conflict and is therefore at the heart of the UK’s interests.” The role’s objectives are to promote human rights at the UN, through the UN Human Rights Council; work with other states to support and advance human rights; and promote human rights campaigns as part of the UK’s international priorities.

• Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament (Geneva)

The UN Conference on Disarmament considers issues such as nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament, the prevention of nuclear war, and the prevention of an arms race in space.

• Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative (Economic) to UN agencies

The Economic Ambassador role is responsible for promoting and defending the UK’s interest in trade, the economy, digital, artificial intelligence, and science and technology. The Ambassador represents the UK at the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Economic Forum, and CERN (the European Laboratory for Particle Physics).

• Deputy Permanent Representative for Global Health, and UK Representative to Global Heath Boards

The role of Deputy Permanent Representative for Global Health focuses on representing the UK in multilateral global health negotiations at the World Health Organization (WHO). The representative is also a member of boards such as Gavi (an international vaccine alliance promoting equitable and sustainable use of vaccines), the Global Fund board (focussed on fighting HIV, TB and malaria), and the UNAIDS board.

UK Mission to the UN in Vienna

The UK Mission to the UN in Vienna represents UK interests in a variety of international organisations covering a range of topics from reducing the risk from nuclear proliferation and armed conflict to countering piracy and increasing sustainable development.  

Focus areas for the Mission include representing the UK on issues from nuclear proliferation to armed conflict, and the UK’s work at Vienna organisations such as the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), or any of the 21 UN agencies or offices based in Vienna.

Key roles and people

The head of the UK Mission to the UN in Vienna takes the role of Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN in Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO). The current Ambassador is Sonia Farrey, who is also the UK Governor on the Board of Governors of the IAEA.

The UK Mission to the UN in Vienna is based at the British Embassy for Austria in Vienna, though their roles are separate. Although there is currently a separate British Ambassador for Austria, the previous UK Ambassador for Austria also took the role of Permanent Representative to the UN in Vienna.

The UK’s Vienna Mission also hosts the Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN. Like other Deputy Permanent Representatives, this role also covers the Deputy Head of Mission, is a key advisor to the Ambassador, and can take the role of Chargé d’Affaires (the daily management of the UK’s UN Mission).

The UK Missions’ place within the FCDO

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee recently reviewed the UK’s work at the United Nations, and touched upon some of the government’s work with its UN missions in its September 2025 “Write to protect” report. The committee, in recommendation 4 of that report, suggested the UK Government “should be more confident in its role at the UN, harnessing its status as a global convenor, and drawing upon the UK’s diplomatic expertise to engage like-minded states in resolving conflict in cases where it is not possible to reach agreement at the United Nations Security Council.”

The government agreed with this recommendation and responded that it:

… remains committed to utilising the skills and capability held by UK Missions and diplomats to confidently work towards resolving conflicts where it is not possible to do so within the UN Security Council, including using the UK’s full range of bilateral and multilateral relationships. While conflict prevention and resolution has a narrower definition within organisations such as the OSCE, the UK’s policy is to exercise leadership in line with international law and accountability. This is supported when efforts in one forum are then reinforced and amplified across all our multilateral equities.”

The committee also noted the recent funding cuts to the FCDO and the resulting workforce reductions. The committee highlighted that, based on the FCDO’s 2024-2025 Annual Report and Accounts (Annex A), the non-development budget for the Multilateral Directorate would reduce from £24.8 million in 2024 to 2025 to £2.3 million in 2025 to 2026 – noting that this this is a 91% reduction (see paragraph 61 of the report).

The committee also called for the government to “ensure the retention of the high-calibre staff at the UK Missions to the United Nations” (recommendation 6). The government agreed and responded with further insight on the FCDO’s workforce reduction:

With the workforce reduction, the FCDO will be a smaller, more agile organisation, better able to deliver tangible benefits for the British people. Decisions are being made strategically, guided by an organisational prioritisation exercise to ensure we retain the capability to deliver UK strength, security and prosperity. It is in recognition of the current global challenges we face that we are working to ensure a higher proportion of our staff are overseas, on the frontline of delivery. The FCDO can commit to ensuring that the UK missions to the UN will continue to be staffed at appropriate levels with high calibre individuals. [Government response, para 20]

Based on the most recent accounts from the FCDO (Annual Reports and Accounts 2025-2026, Annex A) the non-development budget of the multilateral directorate is set to increase again from 2026 to 2027 to £6 million. The most recent annual report does not explain how these budgets will be allocated to overseas multilateral missions.

Further detail and background on the UK Government’s funding cuts to the FCDO and overseas aid is detailed in the Commons Library Briefing: UK aid: Reducing spending to 0.3% of GNI by 2027/28.

Further reading

• Commons Library Briefing Series: The United Nations at 80
• Commons Library Briefing: UK aid: Reducing spending to 0.3% of GNI by 2027/28.
• Commons Library Briefing: The UK at the United Nations: How the UN works
• UNA-UK, The UK’s work with the UN
• FCDO and James Kariuki CMG, The UN’s founding purposes and principles are as essential today as they were 80 years ago: UK statement at the UN Security Council